Microwave-assisted rapid synthesis and characterization of CaF2 particles-filled cellulose nanocomposites in ionic liquid

Abstract In this article, we try to compound cellulose/alkali earth metal fluorides (MF 2 , M = Ca, Mg, Sr, Ba) nanocomposites via microwave-assisted ionic liquid method, wherein cellulose/CaF 2 and cellulose/MgF 2 were successfully synthesized through this method while cellulose/SrF 2 and cellulose/BaF 2 could not be synthesized. We focused on the synthesis of cellulose/CaF 2 and investigated the influences of the different time and different temperature for the synthesis of cellulose/CaF 2 nanocomposites. The influence of different heating methods such as oil-bath heating method was also studied. Ionic liquid ([Bmim][BF 4 ]) was used for dissolving microcrystalline cellulose and providing the source of fluoride ionic and the alkali earth metal nitrate (Ca(NO 3 ) 2 , Mg(NO 3 ) 2 , Sr(NO 3 ) 2 , and Ba(NO 3 ) 2 ) was used as the reaction initiator. They were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), derivative thermogravimetric (DTG), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS). The different heating modes have influence on the morphology and property. The different temperature and heating time also have a certain influence on the morphology and crystallinity of calcium fluoride.